Forced Entertainment - Romeo And Juliet Essay

To me what makes a piece of art visually striking or not is how it challenges the idea of space. How can actors, puppets, or scenery change my impression of the venue? How can imagery immerse its audience into the world of the performance? Forced Entertainment offers a new answer to these questions by using common household items to illustrate one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, Romeo and Juliet. I am very familiar with the original text of Romeo and Juliet and I happen to have an unhealthy appreciation for Baz Luhrmann’s film verision of the play. However, I had yet to experience any sort of puppetry in Shakespeare, let alone common household objects being used to enact any sort of theatrical narrative. The photograph of the performance, that I have included, shows the narrator, Terry O’Connor, as she places the prince (a metal thermos) into the Montague/Capulet fray from Act I. All of the objects are spread out upon a simple wooden table. Behind the table is the narrator in a simple, all black outfit. Behind the narrator is a black curtain. What is not included in the picture are the stage left and stage right simple pantry-like cases, which are stacked with other household objects on shelves labeled with the title works of Shakespeare.
One element of this Performance Piece was segregation of objects by color. All of the Capulet condiments, cleaning liquids, and alcohols were green while their…

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